Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life of Senior Citizens presents a fresh, new exploration of the impact of musical experiences on the quality of life of senior citizens, and charts a new direction in the facilitation of the musical lives of people of all ages. Authors Fung and Lehmberg clearly define the issues surrounding music education, music participation, quality of life, and senior citizens, discussing the most relevant research from the fields of music education, adult learning, lifelong learning, gerontology, medicine, music therapy, and interdisciplinary studies. At the heart of the book is Evergreen Town, a retirement community in the southeastern U.S.A., that serves as the backdrop for three original research studies. The first of these is in two phases, a survey and a focus group interview, that examines the histories and rationales for the music participations and non-participations of community residents. The second and third case studies take an in-depth look at a church choir and a bluegrass group, two prominent musical groups in the community, and include the perspectives of the authors themselves as group members and participant-observers. Fung and Lehmberg conclude with a challenge for the profession of music education: to act on this research and on the current advances in the field, to enable all people to benefit from the richness of music as a substantial contributor to quality of life.

Against the background of Socrates' insight that the unexamined life is not worth living, Reading Our Lives: The Poetics of Growing Old investigates the often overlooked inside dimensions of aging. Despite popular portrayals of mid- and later life as entailing inevitable decline, this book looks at aging as, potentially, a process of poiesis: a creative endeavor of fashioning meaning from the ever-accumulating texts - memories and reflections-that constitute our inner worlds. At its center is the conviction that although we are constantly reading our lives to some degree anyway, doing so in a mindful matter is critical to our development in the second half of life.
Drawing on research in numerous disciplines affected by the so-called narrative turn - including cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and the psychology of aging - authors Randall and McKim articulate a vision of aging that promises to accommodate such time-honored concepts as wisdom and spirituality: one that understands aging as a matter not merely of getting old but of consciously growing old.

The Baby Boomer generation is facing a time of heightened uncertainty. Blessed with unprecedented levels of education, health, and life expectancy, many hope to contribute to society after their retirement. Yet they must also navigate ambiguous career exits and retirement paths, as established scripts for schooling, parenting, and careers continue to unravel. In Encore Adulthood, Phyllis Moen presents the realities of the "encore" life stage - the years between traditional careers and childraising and old age. Drawing on large-scale data sets and interviews with Boomers, HR personnel, and policymakers, this book illuminates the challenges that Boomers encounter as they transition from traditional careers into retirement. Beyond data analysis, Moen discusses the personal impact for Boomers' wellbeing, happiness, and health when they are unable to engage in meaningful work during their encore years, as well as the potential economic loss that would occur when a large, qualified group of people prematurely exit the workforce. Moen concludes with proposals for a range of encore jobs that could galvanize Boomers to take on desirable and sought-after second acts, emphasizing meaningful work over high-paying jobs and flexibility over long hours. An important analysis of an understudied and new life stage, Encore Adulthood makes an important contribution to the existing scholarship on careers, work, and retirement.

Adult cognitive development is one of the most important yet most neglected aspects in the study of human psychology. Although the development of cognition and intelligence during childhood and adolescence is of great interest to researchers, educators, and parents, many assume that this development stops progressing in any significant manner when people reach adulthood. In fact, cognition and intelligence do continue to progress in very significant ways. In this second edition of Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence, K. Warner Schaie presents the history, latest data, and results from the Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS). The purpose of the SLS is to study various aspects of psychological development during the adult years. Initiated in 1956 and focusing on a random sample of 500 adults ranging in age from 25 to 95 years old, the SLS is organized around five questions: Does intelligence change uniformly throughout adulthood, or are there different life-course-ability patterns? At what age and at what magnitude can decrement in ability be reliably detected? What are the patterns and magnitude of generational differences? What accounts for individual differences in age-related change in adulthood? Can the intellectual decline that increases with age be reversed by educational intervention? The first edition of the book provided an account of the SLS through the 1998 (seventh wave) data collection and of the associated family study through the 1996 (second wave) data collection. Since that time, Schaie and his collaborators have conducted several additional data collections. These include a further longitudinal follow-up in 2005/06, a longitudinal follow-up and 3rd data collection for the family study in 2003/04, and acquisition of a 3rd generation sample in 2002. Hence, virtually all of the content from the first edition has been updated and expanded, and three new chapters are included on Health Behaviors and Intellectual Functioning, Biological Influences on Cognitive Change, and Prediction of Individual Cognitive Decline. This new edition is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners specializing in adult development, aging, and adult education, as well as students and faculty in developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, and the social sciences interested in issues of human aging.

How can we create more meaningful and intimate connections with our loved-ones? By using moments of discord to strengthen our relationships, explains this original, deeply researched book. You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of a good relationship, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. The good news, however, is that we are wired to deal with this from birth - and even to grow from it and use it to strengthen our relationships, according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and paediatrician Claudia Gold. Scientific research - including Dr Tronick's famous 'Still-Face Experiment' - has shown that working through mismatch and repair in everyday life helps us form deep, lasting, trusting relationships; resilience in times of stress and trauma; and a solid sense of self in the world. This refreshing and original look at our ability to relate to others and to ourselves offers a new way for us to think about our relationships, and will reassure you that conflict is both normal and healthy, building the foundation for stronger connections.

A deliciously funny and sage guide to midlife - an unscientific, flaws-and-all account of one woman's adventures and misadventures through the dark comedy of the wilderness years.

Through her own experiences as a fifty-something woman, and those of her three sisters, her indomitable mum and rebellious auntie, Charlotte tackles the big questions every woman seeks answers to at this time of our lives - chiefly: How the hell am I going to get over being young in a world obsessed with youth?

Written with warmth, wisdom and irreverence this guide to midlife is perfect for readers of Nora Ephron, Caitlin Moran and India Knight.

The #1 New York Times Bestseller From the bestselling author and columnist behind The Atlantic's popular "How to Build a Life" series, a guide to transforming the life changes we fear into a source of strength. In the first half of life, ambitious strivers embrace a simple formula for success in work and life: focus single-mindedly, work tirelessly, sacrifice personally, and climb the ladder relentlessly. It works. Until it doesn't. It turns out the second half of life is governed by different rules. In middle age, many strivers begin to find success coming harder and harder, rewards less satisfying, and family relationships withering. In response, they do what strivers always do: they double down on work in an attempt to outrun decline and weakness, and deny the changes that are becoming more and more obvious. The result is often anger, fear, and disappointment at a time in life that they imagined would be full of joy, fulfillment, and pride. It doesn't have to be that way. In From Strength to Strength, happiness expert and bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks reveals a path to beating the "striver's curse." Drawing on science, classical philosophy, theology, and history, he shares counterintuitive strategies for releasing old habits and forming new life practices, showing you how to: - Kick the habits of workaholism, success addiction, and self-objectification - Meditate on death-in order to beat fear and live well - Start a spiritual adventure - Embrace weakness in a way that turns it into strength. Change in your life is inevitable, but suffering is not. From Strength to Strength shows you how to accept the gifts of the second half of life with grace, joy, and ever deepening purpose.

In 1963, Betty Friedan's transcendent work, The Feminine Mystique, changed forever the way women thought about themselves and the way society thought about women. In 1993, with The Fountain of Age, Friedan changes forever the way all of us, men and women, think about ourselves as we grow older and the way society thinks about aging. Struggling to hold on to the illusion of youth, we have denied the reality and evaded the new triumphs of growing older. We have seen age only as decline. In this powerful and very personal book, which may prove even more liberating than The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan charts her own voyage of discovery, and that of others, into a different kind of aging. She finds ordinary men and women, moving into their fifties, sixties, seventies, discovering extraordinary new possibilities of intimacy and purpose. In their surprising experiences, Friedan first glimpsed, then embraced, the idea that one can grow and evolve throughout life in a style that dramatically mitigates the expectation of decline and opens the way to a further dimension of "personhood." The Fountain of Age suggests new possibilities for every one of us, all founded on a solid body of startling but little-known scientific evidence. It demolishes those myths that have constrained us for too long and offers compelling alternatives for living one's age as a unique, exuberant time of life, on its own authentic terms. Age as adventure! In these pages, film producers and beauticians, salespersons and college professors, union veterans and business tycoons, former (and forever) housewives, male and female empty-nesters and retirees, have crossed the chasm of age... and kept going. They have foundfulfillment beyond career, bonding that transcends youthful dreams of happily-ever-after, and a richer, sweeter intimacy not tied to mechanical measures of sexual activity, but to deep and honest sharing. While gerontologists focus on care, illness, and the concept of age as deterio

From Consent to Coercion examines the increasing assault against trade union rights and freedoms in Canada by federal and provincial governments. Centring the struggles of Canadian unionized workers, this book explores the diminution of the welfare state and the impacts that this erosion has had on broader working-class rights and standards of living. The fourth edition witnesses the passing of an era of free collective bargaining in Canada - an era in which the state and capital relied on obtaining the consent of workers and unions to act as subordinates in Canada's capitalist democracy. It looks at how the last twenty years have marked a return to a more open reliance of the state and capital on coercion - on force and on fear - to secure that subordination. From Consent to Coercion considers this conjuncture in the Canadian political economy amid growing precarity, poverty, and polarization in an otherwise indeterminate period of austerity. This important edition calls attention to the urgent task of rebuilding and renewing socialist politics - of thinking ambitiously and meeting new challenges with unique solutions to the left of social democracy.

Senior adult ministry isn't what it used to be. The comfortable assumptions and outdated programs that were the basis for local church ministry are being challenged. Baby boomers are hitting middle age and retirement. And their own parents are living longer. Authors Win and Charles Arn have updated and supplemented Catch the Age Wave with ideas, examples and advice to help the local church leader start and maintain a senior adult program. In addition, they have added practical program ideas to use in any local church setting. New challenges for a new day. Catch the Age Wave won't let you miss the boat.